Bryce Canyon is a small national park in southwestern Utah. Named after the Mormon Pioneer Ebenezer Bryce, Bryce Canyon became a national park in 1928.
Bryce is famous for its worldly unique geology, consisting of a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah. The erosional force of frost-wedging and the dissolving power of rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock of the Claron Formation into bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos." Tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name, these whimsically arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes, offering some of the most exciting and memorable walks and hikes imaginable.
Ponderosa pines, high elevation meadows, and fir-spruce forests border the rim of the plateau and abound with wildlife. This area boasts some of the world's best air quality, offering panoramic views of three states and approaching 200 miles of visibility. This, coupled with the lack of nearby large light sources, creates unparalleled opportunities for stargazing.
The viewpoint at Inspiration Point consists of three levels that provide varied spectacular perspectives of the main amphitheater. From here, visitors look toward the Silent City (near Sunset Point) with its many rows of seemingly frozen hoodoos set against the backdrop of Boat Mesa. All who look out from this point are bound to be inspired, considering the intricacies of the hoodoos and their formation through the erosion of the Claron Formation. The barren slopes of Inspiration Point have a mix of trees including Bristlecone Pines. While these are famous for their venerable ages and gnarled trunks, younger bristlecones take on a very different appearance. They are tall and thin and unique among pines in that the entire lengths of their branches are covered with needles, giving them the bushy appearance that earned them the nickname "fox-tail pines." Look carefully as you walk through these barren slopes - you might just discover a Mountain Short-horned Lizard trying to remain camouflaged.
The Claron Formation consists of two members, the lower Pink Member, a "dirty" limestone that contains sand, silt, and iron that lends the rock its reddish color, and the upper White Member, a purer freshwater limestone. This upper White Member of the Claron Formation is visible below Inspiration Point, although few hoodoos form in this softer rock. While no trails lead down into the canyon from the steep cliffs of Inspiration Point, the Rim Trail extends south to Bryce Point and north to Sunset Point. WARNING! The cliffs of Inspiration Point are exceptionally dangerous as they are formed of crumbly rock, slippery slopes and sheer drop-offs. All visitors are strongly cautioned to remain on trails and behind railings.
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